The host nation Zimbabwe begins Super Sixes round with the clash against Ireland. Zimbabwe was the topper of the points table in Group B while Ireland finished at second in their Group. This is going to be a huge match for both the teams. Super Sixes match 3 between Zimbabwe vs Ireland is schedule to start at 9:30 AM Local | 1 PM IST on Friday, 16th March 2018.

ZIMBABWE :

Graeme Cremer and men took an advantage of home conditions very well and qualified to Super Sixes without facing a defeat. The top form of Brendan Taylor played a huge role in Zimbabwe’s successful run during group stage. Rest other batsmen also contributed with runs in various matches and bowlers assured victories by claiming 38 wickets in 4 matches. A collective team efforts are requires once again to earn their place in World Cup next year. Cephas Zhuwao and Solomon Mire used to open an innings in all four matches and their combination worked out somehow well for the home team. Zhuwao who returned to the ODI side almost after 10 years, plays an aggressive cricket at top of the order. He tries to strike the ball from very first ball and dealing with boundaries. His scores were 41 (23 balls), 0 (1), 45 (25) and 18 (9) runs respectively. He failed to score half-century or more but he has an opportunity to play longer innings in this game. Solomon Mire started off with a quick half-century against Nepal and also played an useful cameo against Scotland. Zimbabwe used him as the specialist batsman at the moment, but he could surprise with a ball at some stage of the tournament. The experienced Hamilton Masakadza didn’t contribute much in first two matches but he came back strong with an innings 84 runs against Hong Kong. As facing one of the strong team in the competition Ireland, team requires a massive contribution from him.

Former captain Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine takes care of middle-order along with an all-rounders Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams. Taylor is in red-hot form, his scores 100, 89, 46 and 44 runs proves his current form. Ervine who had a sequence of poor matches in past 2 months, scored a fighting half-century in the last group match against Scotland. Sikandar Raza is the star player of the team in recent times and he proved that with 194 runs in 4 innings. He also rocked with bowling performances and claimed a tally of 10 wickets in 4 matches, including 3 three-wicket hauls. Sean Williams returned to the squad after long break and he already started to contribute with wickets. He is expected to open up with a bat too. Captain Cremer had bowled well and picked 6 wickets in 4 matches. As Brian Vitori suspended from bowling, Zimbabwe uses Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani and Kyle Jarvis as their front-line pacers. Chatara is the major bowler in the side but he managed to pick a wicket each in all 4 matches. Tendai Chisoro utilized his chance and claimed three wickets in the last game. That performance may assure his place once again in the XI.

IRELAND :

The team known for biggest upsets in World Cup history, Ireland aim to seal a place once again in the World Cup by doing well in this tournament. Twelfth ranked team in the ICC ODI rankings has won 3 out of 4 matches in the first round matches. Irish team defeated Netherlands, PNG and UAE comfortably but then lost a game to West Indies by 52 runs margin. They have beat UAE by a massive 226 runs in their most recent match. William Porterfield’s men set for a battle against the hosts. The opening pair of Porterfield and Paul Stirling offered a solid start match after match. Especially, the captain Porterfield led from the front as an example and scored 250 runs in 4 innings. His scores 47, 111, 0 and 92 runs respectively. He has plenty of responsibilities on his shoulders and he responds very well with cool head. His partner Paul Stirling used to start well but failed in convert to big knocks. Then, he found a way to play big innings and scored a mighty 126 runs in the last encounter. Current form of these two are very crucial for Ireland and hopefully they will produce another good start. Andy Balbirnie started the tournament with well made 68 runs but then he dismissed for single-digit scores in next three matches. He is one of the important batsman in Ireland squad and he will continue to get an opportunity in the playing XI.

The experienced Ed Joyce contributed with two half-centuries out of 4 matches. He is playing a crucial role at no. 4 and he tempt to continue the same in this game too. Wicket keeper Niall O’Brien has lot of ups and downs with a bat, he is always unstable with a bat and it’s not easy to predict his performances. But his brother all-rounder Kevin O’Brien performing well with both bat and bowl. The promising all-rounder struggled to score in first two matches but came with good contributions in the last two matches. Especially against UAE, Kevin notched up an unbeaten 50 off just 26 balls. He also shined with a ball and claimed 4 wickets in 3 innings. A continuous poor batting show by Gary Wilson opened the gate for batting all-rounder Simi Singh and he grabbed an opportunity to explore his skills. As Simi picked a three wicket-haul in the last game, he will retain his place in the XI. George Dockrell who are one of the regular member of the XI remained wicket-less in first three matches and in a result he was dropped for the last game. But, Porterfield would back him and probably give him a chance to play this game. The wrist spinner Andy McBrine has claimed 5 wickets in 3 matches and also bowled an economical overs. Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin are their front-line pace bowlers. Murtagh picked a tally of 8 wickets in 4 matches while Rankin grabbed 9 scalps in same number of matches. Barry McCarthy is playing as a third seamer and claimed 4 wickets in 2 matches. Some chances for him to retain his place for this game.

Cricket is what everyone loves. If you’re ready to play fantasy cricket but don’t know how to analyze players, consider his Articles as the foundation of your fantasy teams. Anand is a cricket blogger and fantasy cricket lover.

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